Drink Local Guide: Here’s What Local Pros are Pairing
Three pros give us the scoop on their favorite local drink pairings.
Mari Taketa
Articles
Drink Local Guide: Where to Get Locally Made Wine and Mead in Hawai‘i
Two wineries on the slopes of Hawai‘i volcanoes are producing small-batch estate wines that keep getting better with age. Plus, two local spots to try one of the oldest alcoholic beverages.
Drink Local Guide: Where to Get Locally Brewed Craft Beer in Honolulu
With a slate of thriving breweries, bustling neighborhood bars, and Island-made beer lining the shelves of local stores, craft beer lovers in Hawai‘i have never had it better.
Drink Local Guide: 10 Locally Brewed Beers to Try Right Now
From two styles of IPA to a Thai peanut ale, these locally brewed beers should be on your must-drink list.
‘Family Ingredients’ Hawaii soul food TV series starts tonight
Not quite a year ago I was in Hanoi, Vietnam with the Le family of the Pig and the Lady. Ten days after they opened Piggy Smalls, Pig's little brother restaurant at Ward Centre, Andrew Le, the chef, had flown…
Fresh, fried, silky, sweet: 7-course artisan tofu dinner 10/12
The question came up at the last Natto Day dinner: What about a Tofu Day dinner? For one thing, we had no idea there was a Tofu Day. But true to the Japanese tradition of punny food days, 10 sounds…
ABC Stores Ventures into Upscale Dining with Dukes Lane Market & Eatery
When a retail giant like ABC Stores gets into the restaurant business, there’s more to the story than meets the palate.
These 3 Upscale Food Courts Are Worth the Trip to Waikīkī
Waikīkī gets a triple dose of elevated street fare.
53 Ways to Eat Around the World Without Leaving Hawai‘i
You don’t have to book a flight to explore international flavors. We tracked down 53 of the tastiest dishes in Hawai‘i that hail from cuisines all over the globe.
Ready, set, slime! Natto feast coming July 9
Natto fans, your time has come: the one night of the year when you can indulge your love of the slimy bean without getting stink eye.** On July 9, you’re invited to join fellow natto lovers at a Midsummer…
Will Hawai‘i’s Thriving Dining Scene Bring Michelin Ratings to Our Restaurants?
The famed Michelin Restaurant Guide doesn’t send its inspectors to Hawai‘i. Yet the Islands’ dining scene is attracting a growing number of Michelin-starred chefs and restaurants—and we’re all reaping the benefits. Could there be a starry future for Hawai‘i?
Gourmet Getaways: These Two Beachy Restaurants Are Worth the Long Drive
Roy’s Beach House and Fish House at Ko Olina offer relaxed, indulgent experiences out of town.
Natto again! Look who’s cooking an all-natto feast March 18
Update: The natto dinner is sold out. So natto, Japan’s famously stinky-slimy fermented beans, they get a bad rap. But here’s the thing: Natto can go haute. In fact, thanks to the fervent appetites of Hawaii’s natto worshippers, over the…
9 Ways to Get More Mochi in Your Life, Just in Time for Girls’ Day
Girls’ Day is March 3. What better excuse to buy mochi for your favorite girls and, well, everyone?
Chef texts: What’s cooking in 2017?
What will be on our plates this year? What food trends are coming? We texted some local chefs and found agreement on several trends, disagreement about poke and hope for marijuana edibles and saimin. Read on for more of their…
Hot new restaurants coming in 2017
You thought 2016 was a smoking hot year for restaurant openings? Well, 2017 is looking no less stellar. From local star chef-driven places to national and international chains, here are the spots that have us drooling already. Bethel Union What:…
Meet the Power Couple Behind 3 Popular Honolulu Gastropubs
The owners behind Real, Brew’d and Palate, Lisa Kim and Troy Terorotua, have spent the past five years perfecting their formula.
A5 wagyu, ikura, ceviche: Food at Friday’s Joy of Sake
Sake and food go together like yin and yang, heaven and earth, ebony and ivory — all the good pairings that add up to more than the sum of their parts. You think I’m overstating it? My eureka moment at…
We did the slime: Midsummer Natto Day Feast
The smell hit you when you opened the door: a wave of ferment, a miasma of promise. Inside Tokkuri Tei on Kapahulu, over 100 people were scooping up natto lasagna, natto gazpacho, natto caprese salad with mozzarella cheese, natto cone…
Did you smell it coming? Natto Day feast on July 10
Dear Honolulu, Here’s an invite and a warning: The 5th annual Midsummer Natto Day Feast is coming, and you’re all invited! You’re invited, that is, if you love natto. Because the feast at Tokkuri Tei on Sunday, July 10 will…
This Saturday: Tasting the Philippines of 1898
I know almost nothing about Filipino food. Nothing beyond adobo, sari sari and a thrillingly sour deconstructed sinigang that Sheldon Simeon made at Vintage Cave, where a tamarind broth poured tableside dissolved the bed of chicken fat powder under a…
Local boy on TV alert: Miles Endo in final 3 of ‘Ellen’s Design Challenge’
So I don’t normally watch HGTV, but a few weeks ago my friend Jan told me that Miles Endo, son of Hawaii taiko legend Kenny Endo, was killing it on “Ellen’s Design Challenge.” It turns out comedienne Ellen DeGeneres loves…
Did this: Something new Salt pau hana party
For a time last night Kakaako was the center of a budding universe, a once-dilapidated old block brought to gleaming new life under the bright lights of a Frolic party. Our Kakaako’s coming Salt complex — a longtime construction site…
Get a Bargain on Different Kinds of Fresh Tofu Straight From Aloha Tofu’s Factory
Customers line up for mousse, soy milk and fresh, hot blocks of tofu.
How One Hawai‘i Chef Became a Dining Institution
From family food legacy to new adventures in fusion, Chai Chaowasaree has reached icon status.
Watch a sake movie, then drink the sakes
In a crowded izakaya recently I found myself sitting next to Anderson Le, who flies to film fests all over the world in search of good picks for the Hawaii International Film Festival. “You!” he said. “There’s something I want…
Our hood: Liliha
Our hood is a series spotlighting the neighborhoods the Frolic team calls home. Up first: favorite foods of Mari Taketa’s Liliha. Here’s my hood, Liliha. It’s an old, evolving hood that runs mauka-makai along Liliha Street just above Chinatown. At…
The food you’ll eat: Joy of Sake
It calls itself The World’s Best Sake Celebration, so you already know the sakes will be stellar. At next Friday’s Joy of Sake, you’ll find 391 of them — more sake than you’ve ever seen in your life — but…
Oh yes we did: Midsummer Natto Feast
All 32 pounds courtesy of Aloha Tofu, all non-GMO Full house for Sunday night’s Midsummer Natto Feast, now a four-year-old tradition in Honolulu. Thanks to the ravenous appetites of Hawaii’s Facebook natto lovers group, we’ve had izakaya-style natto, global natto,…
Natto again! Midsummer feast coming July 12
UPDATE: The July 12 natto feast is now sold out. One thing I’ve come to learn about Hawaii’s Facebook natto lovers group: They really love natto. This is a group who posts pictures of all the natto they eat: natto…
38 Best New Dishes and Drinks You Must Try in Hawai‘i
The best new dishes and drinks around the state.
Kakaako street food scene hits 2.0
Those tables, tents and food trucks you see at the old Fisherman’s Wharf? On Ala Moana just across Ward Warehouse? That’s Kakaako’s new street food pod. Not only that, it’s a permanent thing, and the start of something much bigger.…
Something New: OMG, Honolulu Finally Has Korean Chain Chicken
Crispy, light as air and addictive. Finally!
8 Classic Honolulu Dishes That Just Won’t Quit
These dishes never seem to get old.
Discover an Unexpected Frozen Treat in the Corner of a Korean Supermarket
En Hakkore Coffee Bar whips up amazing Korean shave ice.
Something new: Bellini Bistro
On a cool and breezy night I wanted the hominess of a simple chicken — nothing Asian, nothing battered and as close to roasted as I could get. Which is why, Friday night last week, I was on my way…
Ladies vs Gents: Whose cuisine will reign supreme?
So MW Restaurant is putting together a benefit dinner with a male vs. female lineup of culinary superstars. Which is heart-stopping enough (I know who I’m putting my money on), but I wanted to know more. “It all started because…
Something new: Mark Noguchi’s Mission
“Remember you used to tell me,” Mark Noguchi said, “how my food took you back? Well, that’s what I’m cooking here. It’s comfort food with a nod to history.”Sitting in the leafy courtyard of the Mission Houses Museum, I have…
Drool now: The food you’ll eat at Something New
The menus are in, dishes taste-tested, and the verdict as we knew it would be: Something New’s food is killer. As if there was ever a doubt. We threw Honolulu’s best and craziest chefs tough challenges. What would happen if…
Something New event: Michelle Karr-Ueoka and Mark Noguchi go native
Something New is a food celebration with a twist: Nine of Honolulu’s craziest chefs will unleash their creativity in fun new ways, each challenged with a local ingredient that takes them out of their comfort zone. Join us for a…
